GuildMaster Pleads Guilty to Having Fake UL Labels

GuildMaster Pleads Guilty to Having Fake UL Labels: According to reports published by the Associated Press and major Midwest newspapers such as The Star-Telegram and The Republic, Springfield, Mo.-based lighting and accessories company GuildMaster Inc. has pled guilty in federal court for importing thousands of lamps affixed with counterfeit UL labels.

Executives at GuildMaster have maintained since the beginning of the investigation in 2012 that the fake UL labels were put on in error by workers at the company’s factory in China. The sticking point: Although the manufacturer uses UL-listed components for its lamps, it does not hold a license for UL-listed portable lamp assembly. The UL labels that were then affixed by factory workers to the finished product are considered to be counterfeit as a result. Company president Steve Crowder has said that the labeling was put on the lamps without management’s knowledge. GuildMaster later sued the Federal government for its seizure of approximately 5,000 lamps that did not carry false UL labels, but were in the same shipment stopped by U.S. Customs.

In court, GuildMaster (represented by Crowder) pled guilty to the charge of importing the lamps with counterfeit labels. As part of the plea agreement, GuildMaster has forfeited 5,500 lamps and will be on probation for five years.